Journalism

12/28/18

The End of the Alliance: Ex-vangelicals and the Republican Base

Nina Burleigh Evangelicals newsweek cover story.jpg

Newsweek Cover Story, Dec. 13, 2018

I interviewed straight white male "ex-vangelicals" - among the youth leaving the Christian right in droves. They are on the front lines of a growing movement among millennials that is reshaping the evangelical church and the nation's political landscape. Since the 1970s, white evangelicals have formed the backbone of the Republican base. But as younger members reject the vitriolic partisanship of the Trump era and leave the church, that base is getting smaller and older. The numbers are stark: Twenty years ago, just 46 percent of white evangelical Protestants were older than 50; now, 62 percent are above 50. The median age of white evangelicals is 55. Only 10 percent of Americans under 30 identify as white evangelicals. The exodus of youth is so swift that demographers now predict that evangelicals will likely cease being a major political force in presidential elections by 2024.

And the cracks are already showing. Read it here.

Nina Burleigh Evangelicals newsweek cover story.jpg

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